Kind Hearts Darken
by Sleepless Demon
Summary: Hinata has been sent to become more powerful after Naruto has left, but it turns out to be even worse than she originally thought, how will she cope with the training and will it break her kindness? Will her friends be able to save her? Rated M for future work
1. Hinata's Journey

Sleepless D: New story, thanks MidnightXxBlue for the idea, Hinata goes on a trip of her own, but it isn't what she'd have thought. Peace out.

* * *

It's been one month, two weeks and six days since Naruto left, if you wanted the exact date, Hinata could tell you the exact time, but that won't be needed. At the Hyuga compound, Hinata breathed carefully, having fought her cousin and managed to get a few hits on him and Hiashi watched with interest. "Hinata seems to be growing..." He says, having two other people standing near him.

One looked like a much older version of Hiashi, nodding with his droopy eyes on her. "Yes, but she won't grow to be the heiress..." The elder sighs.

The third one chuckled, wearing a black cloak and his hood covered most of his face, his jaw was bony and he had pale skin, even paler than the Hyuga clan. "He does have potential, more then you can imagine." The man says, coughing shortly after and Hiashi looked at him with slight concern.

"Are you alright?" He asked, seeing that his movements went from normal to a pained clenching and a bit of a spasm.

"Yeah, spiffy." The man says, wiping his hand on his own cloak, looking at Hinata as she got up and got in her stance with Neji.

The two charged at each other, throwing their palms at each other and dodging at the same time, increasing in speed as they attack each other. The man watched them, spotting some flaws that could've been used to win, but knew the others missed them. "So why should we risk the secrets of the Hyuga clan?" The elder asked, glaring at the man.

"Father, I have known this man for many years, he can be trusted." Hiashi says, looking at his child and brother's son, seeing them fight, Hinata with more heart, Neji with more skill. He sighed as he saw Hinata take a few hits and stumbles away, Neji also sighs, about to tell her to take a break, but Hinata shot forward and managed to get a hit in. Neji was shocked at this and stumbled back, he was about to retaliate, but Hinata manages to hit him again before he sent her next attack away, soon smashing his palm into her face and made her fly backwards in pain.

Neji saw what he did and quickly went to her, making sure she was aright while the three men looked in slight surprise. "Seems that the little bud has started to blossom, into what, I don't know, I wish to make her blossom into something worthy, come on Hiashi, you know my program." The man says, gaining a sigh from Hiashi who looked at his father.

"Fine, but I'm having an escort to guard her." Hiashi tells him, gaining a sigh from his father and a nod from the man. "So when will you take her, my friend." Hiashi says, looking at his daughter and was slightly worried.

Hinata looked and saw her father watching her, she became confused and a little scared as her father waved with her grandfather standing behind him and a man she hasn't seen before. 'I'm worried now...' Hinata says to herself, wondering who the man was.

"As soon as she packs, because I need to leave soon." The man claims and walks away from the two. "I need to rest, so tell your daughter the news and do what she has to before she leaves." He says, heading towards his room that Hiashi offered during his stay.

Xxxxx

It has been over an hour and Hiashi has just informed Hinata, waiting for her to finish her training and meal before telling her. Hinata was in slight shock, not sure why her father was sending her away. "F-Father...why am I g-going away? I w-want to be here w-with my team...training until Nar..." Hinata began, but closed her mouth as she lowered her head.

"I want you to grow, the man I'm sending you with is the strongest man I know, he has a special academy that allows you to grow to your full potential...and I saw what you managed to do against Neji. You should be proud and I saw the potential, Norio informed me that it's a two year training course, give or take." Hiashi tells her, seeing her slightly distraught about leaving the village for so long.

"B-But...I..." Hinata begins, but not sure how to convince her father to let her to stay.

"Hinata...I'm doing this so you can grow...Neji told me on your growth, I watched you for the pass month, and I admit...you have grown, I wish for you to become the best." Hiashi tells her, making her surprised as she realised that her father wants to help, thinking that he wanted her away at first and thought she didn't have much potential.

"...A-Alright...father..." Hinata replies, looking down. "S-So, when do I h-have to go?" Hinata asked.

Hiashi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking for a second. "Tomorrow morning." Hiashi tells her.

Hinata was a little surprised by this. "B-But t-that's so s-sudden father..." Hinata says and started freaking out.

"Hinata, he has to leave soon, but I will give you an allowance so you can get anything that you need during your time there." Hiashi tells her, gaining a nod from her, slightly happier, but was still scared. "You can go and prepare." He tells her.

Hinata stands up, slowly walking to the door and exits the room, wondering what she has to do.

Xxxxx

It was dark outside, fireflies flew around and a man in a black cloak was sitting on the Hyuga roof, he watched through a window as Hinata was still packing for tomorrow. He chuckles as he pulls his hood down, showing his facial features, he has a shaved head, showing his head entirely, which is very skull like since he had no fat on. He looks as though he's never eaten in years and his yellow eyes showed more experience than his age, if looked at closely, showed someone in their late twenties.

He coughs a little and knew that the air to his side rippled slightly, soon having a person wearing a dark green cloak land in a crouched position next to him. The person pulled out a handkerchief and coughed hard, spitting up something and sighed, the person looked at the man and chuckled. "You still in this village Master Norio?" The person asked, revealed them self as a younger man.

"Yes, I just found a girl that has potential." Norio says, looking at the younger man with a smirk. "Why take the journey to see me?" Norio asked.

The younger man looked and saw Hinata. "That her?" He says, pointing at Hinata.

"Yeah...she's one of the most hidden potential I've seen in many years." Norio says and looks at Hinata, knowing that she was anxious about leaving in the morning.

"I see...me fucking he-" The younger man began, but Norio punched him and made him role away, trying to muffle his screams of pain. After several seconds, the young man stands up, rubbing his face under the hood and glared at Norio, showing a blue eye. "You know I don't like it when you touch me!" The guy yelled.

"Who does?" Norio asked, gaining a nod from the guy. "Now get out of here, I've got a few more students to find before coming back." Norio says, gaining another nod from the guy.

"Okay Master, I'll be waiting..." He says and does an unusual hand sign, muttering something and soon causing the area around him to ripple and vanishes.

Norio chuckled as he closed his eyes, waiting for the morning. 'It's going to be a busy day tomorrow...' Norio says to himself.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Just outside the Leaf village, Hinata was standing next to her bodyguard, Ko, who wore his Leaf Shinobi uniform. "S-So you're c-coming?" Hianta asked her bodyguard.

Norio stood near them, having some final words with Hiashi. "I'll ensure she'll become the best." Norio tells him.

Hinata looked to see her team nearby, making her nervous while Kiba was giving her the thumbs up, Shino doing a nod and Kurenai smiled sadly at her. "Stay safe Hinata." Kurenai tells her.

"We best get going now; we've got a long journey ahead." Norio says to the two Hyuga members.

Hinata nodded in nervousness and Ko smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry Hinata, we'll be alright." He tells her, making her feel more at ease since she's with someone she knows.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It's been a couple of days since the group left the village, heading north and the two Hyuga members were confused to where they were going. "Mind if I ask a question?" Ko asked.

"What is it?" Norio asked, having not looked at the two the entire journey, not even during their breaks to rest.

"Where are we going?" Ko asked, making Norio stop for a second.

"We're going to pick a couple of people up; they're potential candidates for my academy." Norio says. "The first one is a young Monk from a monastery, somewhere at the borders of the Sound Nation.

Ko and Hinata stopped in their place, making him stop and look at them for the first time during the entire journey. "The Sound Nation tried to invade us, we're still on bad terms with them." Ko tells him.

"So? My academy is open to all." Norio tells them, making them nod, but remained cautious.

Xxxxx

It was close to night-time and the three finally reached a very steep mountain, it stood out since there was a large, thick wall and several stone buildings on the mountain. "I-Is this the m-monastery?" Hinata asked, looking at the strangely beautiful structures.

Norio chuckled. "Yeah, this is the Death-Fist order's monastery." Norio tells them, making them look at him in confusion the order's name.

"Interesting name...any purpose for...that?" Ko asked.

Norio just chuckled as he walked on, making them worried slightly, but figured it was just a name. They continued walking forward and reached the metal gate, seeing a skull pattern on it and became slightly worried since it smelled like death. "Who goes there?" Someone called, they looked and saw a white cloaked man sitting against the stone wall, his eyes wrapped around with a cloth.

Hinata and Ko were in shock, not seeing the man who was just sitting there, and the Hyuga clan never miss a thing. "D-Did you s-see him?" Hinata asked.

"No...That's a first..." Ko says, seeing the man and he looked close to eighty.

"I'm here to collect your candidate." Norio tells him.

"Very well my lord..." The old man says, walking towards the gate and slowly placed his hand on the metal, skull patterned gate, causing the gate to explode open.

Ko and Hinata were in shock, not knowing how an old man was able to do that. "Come on then." Norio says while walking into the monastery and the two followed.

They met several staircases that led upwards, seeing some people walking around. But they were shocked that bodies laid on the ground and staircase, some more rotten than others, but a couple were fresh. "What happened here?" Ko asked, feeling Hinata grab his sleeve in fear.

"This is a place where death is natural as living, that and the Nations nearby use this place as a Jonin test, kill one of the monks and escape before you die." Norio says, making Ko and Hinata look in shock.

They looked at the monks and they were all wearing white robes and their eyes wrapped with a cloth. Ko activated his Byakugan and was shocked, seeing even more bodies and skeletons covering the entire area, also seeing that all the monks were blind. "Why would they kill blind monks?" Ko asked.

"You saw the old man back there, they specialise in Death's Fist, one of the most deadly fighting stances, but rare to master. Some even specialise sensing opponents, hard to do if you don't see." Norio says, looking at Hinata. "Don't look away; you'll most likely see bodies in the future."

Hinata was a little scared now, but Ko tried to keep her calm as they walked forward. "It's alright Hinata." Ko tells her.

Xxxxx

They walked and climbed up the stairs, Hinata and Ko exhausted by climbing the stairs for half an hour. They were near the top now and they were surprised since they saw a massive temple, finally built and made Hinata looked in admiration, knowing that it'd have taken many, many years to make it.

They soon saw Norio talking to a couple or monks, they didn't hear what was said, but Norio soon signalled the two to come and they entered the temple. "My other potential student is inside, come and see." Norio tells them, they walked further into the temple.

They soon entered a room that made Hinata and Ko pause in shock. The room was several hundred yards wide in all directions, markings on the wall and several people sat in a circle, praying or meditating. They looked closer and saw markings on the floor, in a different language or strange markings they didn't recognise, within the centre, there was a small girl.

"Eri, Lord Norio has come to collect you." Norio tells the out, making Ko look in confusion.

"Did you just call yourself as third person?" Ko asked.

Norio looked at him. "They're blind..." Norio says, looking and seeing the girl standing nearby already, despite being over a hundred yards away. "And you're fast." Norio chuckled.

"Lord Norio, I have been waiting for your arrival for so long." Eri says.

Hinata looked at the girl, seeing her wearing a white kimono, her eyes bandaged as well as her limbs. Her hair was blond and tied in a loose ponytail, she is considered attractive, but not seeing her eyes made it strange. "Hello Eri, you'll be travelling with me and-" Norio began.

"And the man and girl with special eyes..." The girl says, making Hinata and Ko surprised.

"They said she can sense anything, even special abilities." Norio says, looking at the girl. "So, ready to leave?" He asked.

"Yes, but don't you wish to spend time here, with your brother?" Eri asked, making Ko and Hinata look at him.

Norio looked at them. "No, and don't ask, he's been sealed here for years." Norio says, making Ko and Hinata nod, "We best be off, still got another child to get.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It has been a few days since they collected Eri, Hinata has been talking with her and gets a little nervous since the girl seemed stable, but seemed unstable at the same time. She was collective yet knew what was going on and sometimes went to push a branch away, ended up breaking the tree in half.

Norio didn't react to her strength and just whistled while an Onbuu was freaking out by what happened and ran. "We're close to our next person." Norio says.

"W-Where are w-we?" Hinata asked.

Norio looked at the sky, licking his finger and holding it in the air. "About...two miles away from Takigakure..." Norio says, making Hinata look in confusion.

"How do you know that?" Hinata asked.

"Well...we're passing an ivy covered sign that is encoded for the ninja." Norio says, walking on and soon reached a rundown wagon with a teenage boy relaxing while a fish was being cooked on the fire.

"This person has an unusual aura around him." Eri says, lifting her head.

Ko looked and activated his Byakugan, seeing that she was correct. "Yeah...interesting..." Ko says, seeing his chakra and it was going weird.

Norio licked his finger again, checking the air. "Yeah, this is the kid." Norio says and walks to the boy. "Hey, I've been searching for you." Norio says with a smirk.

The boy sits up, looking at Norio and had a slightly panicked look on his face. "...I have a bad feeling..." The boy says.

Norio chuckled. "No, I knew your Sensei, he recommended you over a ages ago and I'm taking the offer."

The boy chuckled. "Well...not sure when that was, because I went rouge and been on the run for years now." The teenage boy says with a smirk. "And now I'm going to go to my meal, you lot, just leave or suffer."

Norio chuckled and bent down, looking at the boy and making him uncomfortable, Norio reached over to the fire and grabbed the fish. The boy was a little freaked out since Norio was ignoring the flames and pulled the fish out of the fire. "This fish?" Norio asks, tossing the fish behind him and looked at him.

The teenage boy grabbed Norio's covered shoulder. "Leave me alone." He tells Norio.

Norio chuckled, grabbing the teenager's shoulder. "Susumu, you can't do that to me." Norio says in a bemused voice.

The boy known as Susumu freaked out and rolled backwards. "W-Who the f-fuck are you!?" He yelled.

"Norio Ikari, I am the master of an academy, built to train the most special people, and I know you are." Norio tells him.

Susumu looked at the others, seeing Hinata and recognising the eyes. "A Hyuga, thought you only stayed in the village." He says, looking at the two girls and smirked. "It's been awhile since I've hung out with girls-" Susumu began, but Norio patted his check and made him role back, yelling in pain and rubbing his cheek. "What the fuck was that!?" He yelled.

"Never mind, just get your stuff and let's move." Norio says, making the boy nod in nervousness and quickly gather his stuff and putting down the fire.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It has been a couple of days since they received Susumu; they were deeper in an overgrown forest, the people following Norio, other than Eri. "How much longer is our journey going to be?" Ko asked, tired of journeying for so long.

"We're nearly there." Norio states, soon reaching a very large cave. "And we're here." Norio states.

Eri looked towards the cave, or better yet, faced it, after a second. "There are several people in there already." She says.

Hinata and Ko activated their Byakugan and were soon shocked, seeing tunnels and rooms with enough room to hide a village in. "So this is the academy?" Ko asked, seeing adults and teenagers within the cave.

"It use to be a temple from the old days." Norio tells them.

Susumu looked at Hinata and smirked, he stepped towards her and put his arm on her shoulder. **"So, want to share a bed during our time here?"** He asked, to Hinata, his voice echoed in her head.

Hinata knew something was wrong, but was finding it hard to refuse him. "That's not a nice thing to do mate." A voice came from next to Susumu, causing everyone to role and look to see the person.

Eri freaked out for some reason, stumbling away in shock and Ko noticed this, confused to why. "Who the fuck are you!?" Susumu yelled in shock.

"Strife, one of your instructors." He says, taking his hood down and showed a guy in his late teens, having messy brown hair, his right eye brown while his left was blue. He pulled out a handkerchief and coughed into it hard, Ko managed to see the handkerchief and saw bloodstains on it.

"W-Where did you come from!?" Eri yelled, making Hinata come back to the world and saw Strife.

Strife chuckled, putting the handkerchief away and walking away, but nodded at Norio before walking into the cave. "This will be the bloodiest time of your lives; death is more common than being a ninja here." Strife chuckled.

"Now, now Strife, leave that for the others." Norio says, looking at the young ones. "We aim to train you to be the best, and being the best comes at great risks." Norio tells them.

"Are you alright Hinata?" Ko asked her, seeing that she was distracted.

"Y-Yeah..." Hinata replied, making a note to never let that happen again with Susumu.

* * *

Sleepless D: Hoped you liked it, review as you wish, thanks MidnightXxBlue for the idea. Peace out.


	2. Start of Training, Blood Boils

Sleepless D: Next one's up, hope you like. Peace out.

* * *

The group were within the underground temple, many corridors led deeper underground, making the young people wonder how deep they went. After a minute, they reached the main hall, seeing several people eating at stone tables and some watched from above. "Lord Norio has arrived!" Someone yelled, gaining everyone's attention.

"New meat!" Another yelled and gained demonic smirks that made Hinata and Susumu nervous by their smirks.

"Follow me brats." Strife tells the younger people with Norio.

"We're near your age dumbass." Susumu tells Strife, knowing that he was at least a couple of years younger than him.

They did as he said, walking down the steps and began passing other teenagers who walked away from the centre and formed a circle. Norio walked around, having the concerned Ko follow him as he reached the front of the hall, seeing other older men and women standing near a large, stone throne. "My students, fellow members of my order, we have new members for this academy...and you all know the beginners test." Norio says, gaining a few cheers and chuckles from the younger people. "Kim!" Norio calls, having one of the younger members walk out.

The person wore a dark blue cloak and a hood that covered their face, they soon removed the cloak and a very slim person stood there. Kim wore a white tank top, white bandages wrapped around their shoulders and neck, a dark, camouflaged trousers and combat boots, Kim also wore leather armour around more vulnerable areas. Their facial features were strange, looking feminine, yet dark eyes and a shaved head with several fresh cuts throughout their scalp.

"What's going on?" Susumu asked, seeing Strife walk away quickly.

"You three, you'll have to fight Kim, one of the best within this temple, so we can assess your strength and ability." Norio tells them.

Ko was confused. "But there's three of them...I know Hinata's capability...even though she is skilful, she can't fight in front of a crowd this large." Ko tells him.

"Don't worry, they always lose and it usually takes a week for them to recover, some rare cases were death." Norio says, making Ko look in shock, Norio noticed this and chuckled. "Don't worry; I'm sure Hinata will survive." Norio tells him.

Kim started cracking her joints while the three new members were still confused, but Susumu soon chuckled and pulled out a knife. "Let's get this over with!" Susumu yelled, charging towards Kim, he jumped and sliced at Kim's cheek, he landed and quickly moved back and licked his blade. He stopped, having a disgusted look on his face, looking at the knife and saw that part of it was liquefied and was shocked. "What the fuck happened to my knife!?" He yelled, spitting out the liquid metal out.

Kim turned to him, showing her cheek and showed something shiny on her cheek, soon shrinking and vanished. "She's got something in her...I'm not sure what..." Eri says to Hinata, she quickly activated her Byakugan and saw that she was right, her veins filled with a liquid, soon realising that it was a metallic liquid.

"Y-Yeah...liquid metal..." Hinata says, nervous and gets in her stance while Eri does that same.

Kim holds her hand out, liquid metal coming out of her hand and taking form of a large knife, making Susumu feel a little scared now. Kim charged forward, swinging her weapon at him, managing to make light cuts on him, but he kept moving away from her. He hit a stone table and Kim quickly stabbed him in the shoulder, pushing him back and soon piercing the table and pinning Susumu to the table.

"FUCK!" Susumu yelled in pain, quickly grabbing Kim's arm and looked at her. **"Leave me alone...kill yourself..."** Susumu says, clenching his teeth in pain.

Kim released the blade, grabbing her jaw and twisted her neck and caused a snapping sound, Susumu sighed in slight relief, but another snap was heard. Susumu looked and was shocked that Kim was looking at him, a smirk on her face and her neck looking slightly deformed.

Hinata was scared now, knowing that her neck was broken, but she snapped it back in place. She left Susumu pinned to the stone table and began walking to the two girls. "One down, two to go." Norio says from his seat.

Kim charged forward, slightly disorganised steps and a bit wobbly, Eri took a step forward and sent her palm forward, hitting Kim in her chest. Kim shot backwards, crashing through stone tables and crashed into the wall, leaving everyone to stare in shock at her strength. Hinata thought that it looked similar to the Hyuga Gentle Fist, but did some kind of force that destroys its targets.

Kim coughed and ripped herself out of the wall, cracking her joints and Eri was impressed. "You managed to withstand my attack? Impressive..." Eri says aloud.

"She can solidify her body with metal!" Strife yells, enjoying the fight.

Kim charged once again, Eri fucused solely on Kim and waited, trying to sense where Kim will go next, she sent her palm forward once again, aiming for Kim's abdomen. Kim was ready however, having a long needle grow from her abdomen, cutting through Eri's hand, but it went badly for both. Eri's hand seized up and the needle went straight through Kim, Eri yelled in pain and held her palm, Kim ignored the pain and chopped her in the throat. Eri grabbed her throat, gasping for air and fell to her knees, Kim had three small needles come out of her right knee, smashing her knee in Eri's face.

The Monk girl fell backwards, trying to yell in pain, her cloth also flew off, having blood coming from her face and three long scars on her forehead now. Hinata was scared now, unable to move while Kim walked towards Hinata, her arms outstretched, looking like she's about to hug Hinata. Hinata felt the older girl wrap her hands around her, becoming scared and wondered what was going on. Pain was soon felt throughout her body, feeling her body being pierced in several areas and soon felt her lungs filling up with a warm liquid. Hinata coughed up blood before her eyes went blurry, seeing Kim pull back and Hinata fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

Kim was covered in large needles around her body, they receded and Kim moved to the closest stone table and sat down, holding her wound which still bled. "Someone get the medic!" Norio calls, seeing Ko run towards Hinata when he saw blood.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It's been over a week since that day, Hinata had to have surgery to repair all her organs, Eri was made to stay on the bed since her skull had deep gashes, Susumu required one surgery and was up and about. Hinata was scared of the academy, sending three people against someone that didn't seem to know how to die.

"So, how are you healing up?" Susumu asked, looking at Hinata and Eri, confused since she was in the corner, meditating and didn't have her cloth on, yet they haven't seen her open her eyes.

Hinata looked at him, having kept Susumu away the entire time. "I'm f-fine..." Hinata says.

Someone walked in, they looked and saw Norio, not wearing a cloak and was wearing a very worn down, dusty suit. "Hello, it's been a week, you'll begin your training...and Ko has managed to get a single room for you and will guard you." Norio tells Hinata.

She nodded, glad that she has her own room since she had to keep an eye open with Susumu near her. "O-Okay...thank you..." Hinata says.

"Okay, now...get out of the beds and meet with your tutor for the first lesson, you'll meet him and the others at the hall." Norio says, taking out a small ball. "Better move, this stuff is like tear gas." Norio says, throwing the ball and leaving.

The ball explodes and a white smoke quickly explodes, filling the room and the young people started coughing hard, their eyes stinging and quickly ran out of the room. Susumu ran into a stone wall by accident, getting up in pain and crawled out of the room, his head bleeding slightly.

Xxxxx

The three students of the academy reached the main hall, Susumu having a large headache and they saw a man wearing a blue cloak in the middle. They saw several other students near their age talking, waiting for them and some hated glares from the others. "Now then, seeing as you're all here then, the test is the same as usual, working in teams to hit me." The man in a blue cloak says, gaining a few annoyed sighs.

Hinata recognised the man as Strife, wearing his cloak over his clothes and had a metal mask in his right hand. "Can't we do something new? None of us has been able to hit you!" One of the other students complains, making Hinata, Susumu look in slight shock, not noticing Eri rub her head in pain.

"You can't hit this guy?" Susumu asked, bemused that they haven't.

"Trust me newbie...he's Norio's right hand...man for a reason." An older person says, making him and Hinata look, becoming slightly shocked to see someone that resembled a fish, having a sealed, ring container wrapped around his neck, seeing a bit of water coming from the container.

"Shut up, I'll hit him in less than one minute!" Susumu yells, charging forward, pulling out a kunai and launched forward, aiming to do a small cut.

Strife wasn't even looking and dodged the attack, Susumu cursed and started swinging wildly at Strife, but Strife was dodging the attacks quickly. Eri shot forward, her palm outstretched as she aimed for Strife, but was confused since Strife wasn't trying to avoid her attack. Susumu launched forward, aiming to kill Strife this time since he was pissed off, knowing that Strife couldn't dodge since he was in midair.

Strife chuckled and vanished, Eri was freaked out and Susumu became shocked and quickly tried to dodge. However, she brushed his shoulder and sent him flying, crashing into stone tables and hitting a couple of students.

Eri was holding her head, freaking out while Hinata was nervous now too, having keener eyes than most and Strife just vanished. Eri still had her eyes closed the entire time, not trying to sense where Strife was, but couldn't and freaked out since she couldn't follow him. After a few seconds, Strife reappeared where he was before, spinning this time and smashed his heel into Eri's back, making her scream in pain and hit the floor.

"Now then, two tried, both failed, anyone else?" Strife asked, seeing Susumu get up, coughing hard and looking at Eri.

"What the fuck happened?" Susumu asked, looking at his shoulder and seeing it out of place. Someone soon grabbed his shoulder and twisted it, making a horrible cracking out and Susumu screamed in pain, falling to his knees. "THANKS!" Susumu yelled, realising that it was dislocated.

"No problem." The guy says, having the characteristics of a tiger.

'Is everyone in this shithole a freak or something?' Susumu wondered.

"He's a good medic." Strife says, looking at the tiger man. "Nice work Felix." Strife smirked, soon placing a mask on his face, having yellow sockets.

"It's Neko..." The tiger man says in annoyance.

"Whatever Felix." Strife says and looks at Hinata. "Want to try your luck girl?" Strife asked, but getting a scared 'no' from Hinata. "Come on, try me." Strife says.

Hinata was still scared and walked forward, Strife chuckled and picked up Eri with one hand and threw the unconscious Eri to Neko. Neko caught her and placed her on the table, his hands glowing green and checked over Eri. "This should be quick." The fish man says.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, watching carefully and got in her stance, Strife waved at her to come. She charged and swung her palms at him, trying to hit him, but he was dodging her easily and charged forward, trying to punch Hinata, but she dodged his attack. "Good work..." Strife says, coughing slightly.

Hinata was now on the defence, dodging the older man's attacks, the others were impressed that she was dodging the attacks, even astounded that she blocked his disappearance and reappearance attack. Hinata was getting braver and she knew she'd be safe if she keeps focused, but she was getting exhausted and was beginning to worry about Strife, seeing him cough up blood under his mask. "Come on Strife! You're making yourself look weak!" Neko yelled.

Strife quickly grabbed a stone table and swung it at Hinata, she quickly took a stance and started moving her palms rapidly. 'Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!' Hinata said to herself, creating a sphere of chakra lines and practically vaporised the table, Strife also vanished and she kept her eyes focused.

The barrier stopped when someone grabbed her wrists, she was freaked out as Strife was standing behind her, having grabbed her wrists and smashed his knee in her back. "Nice try." Strife tells her and began to walk away, but he stopped when Hinata grabbed his ankle.

Strife sighed and pulled his other ankle back, ready to kick Hinata. "Lady Hinata!" A man yelled, he looked to Ko running towards them. Strife sighed and pulled his ankle away from Hinata and sat on a chair, watching as Ko was fussing over Hinata, glaring at Strife while Neko started checking on Hinata.

"Alright people, lesson over, meet by the Bottomless Spring in half an hour." Strife tells them, vanishing and making Ko confused, not seeing him anywhere.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she's alright and ready for the next part." Neko says.

"But she's just been hurt! Wasn't he the tutor!?" Ko yelled in anger.

"Yes, but that's training, she did better than most did on their first time." Neko says, glaring at Ko for arguing over their methods. "Argue with Lord Norio if you don't like it." Neko tells him. "This is to test your skills in dodging and attacking."

Ko just stayed by Hinata's side, worrying about her and wanted to make sure she was alright. "W-What happened?" Hinata whispered, feeling weak and painful.

Xxxxx

It's been over half an hour, the students were in the deepest, darkest part of the temple, a large room with several stone chairs, there is an alter behind a dark, seemingly bottomless spring. A woman sat in the middle of the stone chairs, watching the group carefully as the three newest students looked at the spring. "Welcome to the Springs of the Rift...to the new ones, you're to drink from the spring...which increases your body's capability." The woman tells them.

"Who's she?" Susumu asked, looking at the woman, having pale skin, shaggy, midnight blue hair, amber eyes and wears a black-half-top and black sweats with a dark blue trench coat.

"Midori...rouge ninja from the Mist...she's deadly...don't ever piss her off..." Neko whispers.

"Drink from what spring?" Eri asked, making Hinata step to her.

"It's right in front of us..."Hinata says, believing she can only sense people.

Eri soon looked worried, soon having the students go forward, placing their hands in the water and drinking from it. The students moved away, soon grabbing their heads in pain. Hinata and Eri could sense chakra exploding from the students that drank from it, becoming worried as they walked closer to the spring. Eri took a deep breath, reaching down and drinking the water, Hinata was scared, but did as the others did, drinking the water.

The water seemed colder than ice, making Hinata confused by what was so wrong with it, she heard people collapsing and saw Susumu hitting the floor, screaming in pain. Eri walked away, looking ill and held her stomach in pain, collapsing and hitting the floor hard.

Hinata soon felt her chakra coils burning, her head starting to feel like it was splitting in half, she soon screamed in pain, falling to her knees, but she was too close to the spring and fell in. Midori stood up and cursed, quickly walking towards the pond.

Hinata felt cold, seeing nothing but darkness, she tried to breath, but her body started burning greatly and for some reason, she felt like she was freezing to death. Hinata closed her eyes, feeling like she should just die, but she saw Naruto, feeling slightly at peace, but her eyes shot open, seeing a dark roof and Midori glaring at her. "You're a real pain, everyone moves away from the spring, you? You do something that not even I should do, enter the springs." Midori tells her.

Hinata's joints were sore, feeling tired and her body was cold, she wondered what happened, she looked and saw the other students looking weak as well. **'Now then...best get some sleep, it'll be a tough day on training tomorrow...'** A voice in her head says, making her slightly confused, looking at Midori and wondered if she talked or if she was hallucinating.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It's been a couple of months since Hinata fell into the Spring, she was tired, exhausted and her body couldn't warm up, no matter what, she even took a bath in boiling water, but that didn't help. Hinata and her 'group' were being pushed, having to fight most of the time, learn through experience. Some were training with Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and other stuff, exhausting everyone quickly, but Hinata was increasing in stamina and were okay with Eri, everyone else were still hostile.

Hinata walked slowly from her room, finding it odd that Ko wasn't there when she woke up, she shivered and heard fighting going on. Hinata thought that it was just the usual, angry students trying to kill each other again, usually happened every week or so.

Hinata walked into the main hall, seeing a small group of people punching and kicking a man, she was worried but she learnt fast on not to stop them. After a few seconds, the man they were beating up pushed them away and stood up, weak, bleeding and a frustrated. Hinata was shocked when she recognised the man. "Ko!" She yelled.

Ko got into his Gentle Fist Stance, his Byakugan active and charged, smashing his palms into the man that looked like a fish. The fish man chuckles and grabbed Ko's wrist, soon causing a snapping sound and Ko yelled in pain. "That kind of attack...won't work against...my, skin Hyuga." The Fish man says, kneeing Ko in the chest.

Ko fell to his knees, winded badly and looked at the three attackers, the Fish man, Neko and a young man with bandaged up eyes. Hinata rushed forward, wanting to stop what they were doing to Ko, the bandaged up eyes tilted his head, raising his hand at Hinata and caused her to fly back, destroying a few stone tables at the same time.

Hinata coughed up a small amount of blood, some other students just watching as Neko chuckled, smashing the back of his hand against Ko's face. "Should never question Lord Norio's will, he's our saviour, he saved us from our lives, and you fight for a little girl that will end up dead." Neko says, grabbed the back of Ko's neck.

"W-What are...you d-doing..." Hinata says, her body still weak from training and fighting all the time. She falls to her side and starts crawling towards them, Neko chuckled as he placed Ko on his knees, seeing blood drip from his face.

"We're getting rid of useless weight." Neko says, standing behind Ko, grabbing the top of his head and jaw, smirking as he pulled away in opposite directions. Hinata paused in shock, hearing a sickening snap, Ko slowly falling to the ground and hits the floor, unmoving while blood came from near his head.

"Now...it's your turn." The Fish man smirks, walking towards her.

Hinata stayed there, her eyes emotionless and the world seemed to darken around her, unknowing activating her Byakugan and slowly stood up. "Wow, girl knows how to stand after your attack Ridd!" Neko chuckled.

"It doesn't matter, I'll kill her in one blow!" The Fish man says, charging and pulling his arm back.

Hinata stood there, nothing going through her head and she looked at him, her eyes cold and emotionless, she pulled her hand back and launched it forward. The Fish man was still several feet away from her, but he was hit by what seemed to be an invisible wall, causing him to fly back and caused Ridd to wave his hand to send Fish man in a different direction. Neko just stood there, shocked by what just happened. "The fuck was that?" Neko asked.

Hinata shot forward, faster then she has ever been before, surprising Neko as he jumped back to avoid her attack, but he too was hit by an invisible wall from the direction her hand shot. He soon hit the wall and Hinata looked at Ridd, still emotionless while Ridd did nothing. Hinata's hand shot forward, causing Ridd to do the same and the air between them seemed to thicken, making everyone look in shock and wonder what was going on.

The space between them explodes, sending them both flying and Ko's body sent flying as well, the two hit opposite walls and both went unconscious. The students were shocked by what happened and the middle of the hall was destroyed entirely, leaving Norio who had watched the entire thing with interest.

* * *

Sleepless D: Hope you like, review and finally. Peace out.


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